Tetons

Strong southwest winds and 18 inches of snow in the past 36 hours and heavy snowfall today will make easily triggered or natural slides to three feet in depth possible on a variety of aspects. The new snow sits on smooth sun crusts on southerly aspects. On all slopes the snow holds layers of weak graupel. A skier was caught and carried, but uninjured, in a two foot slab in a north facing couloir in Granite Canyon yesterday. Silmilar but larger slides should be expected today. At lower elevations the snowpack is mostly stable but any periods of rain could cause wet-loose sloughs in steep areas like road cuts.

Following lighter snow showers overnight, significant snowfall is expected during the day Thursday with four to six inches of additional accumulation expected. Mountain temperatures are to rise from near ten degrees to the upper teens and winds are to be Westerly at 25-35 mph. The general avalanche hazard for the Western Wyoming regions is expected to be CONSIDERABLE at upper elevations where the possibility will exist to trigger slabs to three feet in depth in steep wind loaded avalanche terrain in the morning. The size and sensitivity of these slabs will increase as new snow and strong winds additionally load them as the day progresses.